Toyota unveils sports car concept

Toyota has unveiled its stunning FT-1 sports car concept at the ongoing at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. First devised by Calty Design Research in the Sony PlayStation Gran Turismo game environment, the Toyota FT-1 represents the pinnacle of a long-running endeavour by Calty to create the ultimate sports car. FT-1 stands for “Future Toyota,” and the number “1” represents the ultimate. According to its designers at Calty Design Research, the FT-1 Concept builds upon Toyota’s rich sports coupe heritage dating back to the 2000GT, Celica, Supra, MR2 and most recently Scion FR-S. In addition, the concept draws inspiration from Calty’s more recent sports car concept work such as FT-HS (2007) and the Lexus LF-LC (2012). The project started nearly two years ago and represents a labor of love by a passionate, dedicated and gifted Calty design team. “The FT-1 is a dream-project for a designer and car enthusiast like myself,” said Alex Shen, Calty’s Studio chief designer. “Our team was heavily influenced by Toyota’s sports car past, especially Celica and Supra, and we sought to capture some of that history. It is an aggressive, track-focused sports car concept with a presence that has been amplified for shock and awe.” Nobuyuki Negishi, chief representative, Mena Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “The Toyota FT-1 concept is an iconic sports car model which captures elements of the emotion and energy we can expect to see in future Toyota vehicle designs while inspired by Toyota’s long sports car tradition. It also aims to show what can be achieved when the focus is on creating a sports car design that will truly excite our customers.” Source: TradeArabia